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Week of Feb. 13, 2006
Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride gets off to a great start
 The first day of operation at the new Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride got off to a great start on Monday, with more than 400 bus passengers using the new five-story garage.
King County and Metro officials expect the new 1,000-stall garage to be well used by bus commuters from Issaquah, Sammamish, Preston, Fall City, Snoqualmie, North Bend and other Eastside communities. The new garage is located just north of Exit 18 on Interstate 90, and will attract people who normally drive the congested section of I-90 between Issaquah and Bellevue.
“The Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride provides new transit connections that further expand the transportation network along I-90,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “But, we’re not focused on only improving local traffic congestion.
“Including the Issaquah Highlands garage, King County and Sound Transit will add 2,500 new park-and-ride spaces into the regional transit system during the month of February alone. Just think how many cars that takes off our overloaded road and highway system every day.”
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, approximately 21,000 cars travel westbound each weekday morning between Issaquah and  Eastgate. Sims said the new and existing park-and-ride lots along that stretch of I-90 provide more than 3,200 parking spaces.
“Can you imagine what the average commute on I-90 would be like if these park-and-ride lots and bus service didn’t exist?” he asked.
The Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride Garage is located at the intersection of Highlands Drive and High Street. Bus service at the new garage includes more than 20 trips to downtown Seattle during peak commute times on Metro and Sound Transit buses.
It is served by existing Metro Route 269 (Issaquah-Sammamish-Redmond-Overlake) and Sound Transit Express 554 (Issaquah-Eastgate-Mercer Island-Seattle). There is also a brand new Metro Route 218 with commute-time service direct from Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride to Seattle. The 218 makes ten trips in the morning, arriving downtown between 6:20 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. There are also ten trips in the afternoon departing between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
 The $26.6 million cost of the project includes planning, land acquisition, engineering, design, and construction. It was funded by a partnership of King County, Sound Transit and the Federal Transit Administration.
The 4.2-acre site is located in the “Town Center” area of the Issaquah Highlands development – a large master-planned community. It is being developed by Port Blakely Communities, and upon completion will consist of 3,250 residential units, an urban town center, and several million square feet of office space – all within walking distance of the park-and-ride garage. Approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space is planned along the southern end of the garage to meet the development requirements of the surrounding town center.
The outside walls on the north and west sides of the garage feature innovative artwork by Ned Kahn, who created thousands of wind-detecting panels that are constantly moving along the outer surface. It is titled “Glacial Façade.”
Visit Metro Online for specific bus schedules serving the Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride. Passengers can also visit Metro's Online Trip Planner to plan trips between specific points. Or, call Metro’s Rider Information Office at (206) 553-3000.
The King County Department of Transportation announced today that the state Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have approved a replacement alternative for the South Park Bridge spanning the Duwamish River. Following completion of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and extensive public involvement last fall, the division recommended that the current bridge be replaced with a new drawbridge. The condition of the 75-year-old span between Seattle and Tukwila on 14th/16th Avenue South has severely deteriorated in recent years, and was made worse during the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake. The FHWA rates the bridge a six out of a possible 100 points, one of the lowest ratings of any bridge in the State of Washington. The county considered five alternatives during its environmental review, including rehabilitating the existing structure, constructing a fixed-span or movable-span bridge and removing the bridge entirely. Based on the outcome of the review and input by several agencies, residents and a citizen advisory group, a movable-span bascule bridge was determined to be the best replacement option. This alternative also presents the fewest community impacts. “Following intensive review, King County believes a movable replacement bridge is the best option for both the south King County transportation network and the South Park community,” Department of Transportation Director Harold Taniguchi said. “But the future of this project is far from certain. The county continues to work with federal, state and regional transportation partners in an effort to put together a funding package for the bridge. While the project has been identified as a potential candidate for funding by the Regional Transportation Investment District, the bridge has yet to be formally added to the list of proposed projects.” The cost of constructing a new bascule drawbridge is currently estimated at $90 million. If funding cannot be secured, the rapidly deteriorating bridge will need to be dismantled and removed by the end of the decade due to safety concerns. In addition to severing the community’s main transportation route, removal of the bridge will force more than 20 thousand vehicles a day on to nearby commuter and freight routes such as the 1st Avenue South Bridge, West Seattle Bridge, State Route 99 and Interstate 5. The bridge also provides access to the residential communities of White Center, West Seattle, Georgetown and Boulevard Park. The bridge serves one of the largest industrial and shipyard complexes in the state and is used to haul freight to King County International Airport, Port of Seattle facilities, the Duwamish waterfront, rail facilities and the industrial areas of Kent and Auburn. Now that the county has received state and federal approval of the replacement, the county will develop a final EIS and begin preliminary design. If funding can be obtained, the new bridge will be under construction as early as 2009. The draft EIS is available online in a .pdf format.
Most Metro bus routes will operate on a Sunday schedule for the Presidents’ Day Holiday on Monday, Feb. 20. That means many weekday commute routes will not be in operation. There are some exceptions, and it is best to visit Metro Online for specific information about your route. Metro customer service offices will be closed on Feb. 20. |
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Metro will host the final open house to preview plans for the new Burien Transit Center on Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Burien Community Center, 424 SW 144th St. The drop-in meeting will feature completed design plans for the new transit center, architectural models, and information about the public art components. Metro staff will be there to answer transit questions, and city of Burien staff will be on hand to answer any questions about the adjacent Burien Town Center project. Construction on the new facility - which will be located near the current transit center at Southwest 150th Street and 4th Avenue Southwest - is scheduled to begin this fall, and take approximately a year to complete. The new transit center will have a passenger platform that can accommodate up to eight buses, new passenger shelters, and improved lighting. For information about the Feb. 28 meeting, contact Betty Gulledge-Bennett at (206) 263-3436, or email at: betty.gulledge-bennett@kingcounty.gov.
The forecasters are calling for cold – and possibly snowy – weather this week in King County. So, don’t put away the warm coat, thick gloves, and winter commuting skills just yet. The Roads Services Division will be sending out trucks with sand and de-icer as needed to keep roads in the unincorporated areas clear of snow and ice. Motorists can do their part by keeping an eye on the weather, checking tires, and having the right supplies on hand at work, home and in the car. Metro Transit supervisors keep an eye on the skies, so they can chain up buses before snow accumulates. Bus riders should check out the “adverse weather information” on the printed and online timetables for their specific route. Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines. Also, be patient because buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions.
The annual Seattle Spring Home Show will be held Feb. 18-26 at the Qwest Field Events Center, and Metro is offering free shuttles from Bellevue, Northgate and Renton. Metro can help you beat the crowds and save on parking with either regular transit service or free weekend shuttles to the show from the suburban park-and-ride lots. For regular service and routes, use Metro's online Trip Planner. Or, call Metro Rider Information at (206) 553-3000 for trip planning assistance. Full details about service to the show are posted on Metro Online.
The special shuttles will be available Saturday-Monday, Feb. 18-20 and again on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 27-28. They travel between Qwest Field and the Northgate Transit Center, South Bellevue Park-and-Ride, and the South Renton Park-and-Ride. The free shuttles will operate from approximately 9:20 a.m. until the show closes for the day. |
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